For our eighth Rundown article, we hit the category with the most support from a single film. After the jump, you’ll find our winner and runner-up predictions for Best Supporting Actress as well as general commentary about the race. Next week, we’ll start off on Monday with a category that’s probably the prettiest to look at.

Best Supporting Actress

Winner Predictions

Bérénice Bejo – The Artist

Jessica Chastain – The Help

Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids

Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs

Octavia Spencer – The Help(O)(New)(R)(O)

Runner-Up Predictions

Bérénice Bejo – The Artist(R)

Jessica Chastain – The Help(R)

Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids(R)

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Wesley Lovell: When your humble speeches are well received and your character has a fiery story arc, winning Best Supporting Actress is fairly simple. Everyone seems to love Octavia Spencer and none of the others seem to have developed the kind of cult following you would expect of an eventual winner.

Peter J. Patrick: Personally I feel that Jessica Chastain gave the best performance in this category and hope she pulls off a surprise win, but the momentum is with her co-star, Octavia Spencer, who has the bigger part and gets the biggest laughs in the film.

Tripp Burton: Octavia Spencer seems to have a stranglehold on this category, and going into the awards, she is the most guaranteed of the acting contenders. Not only did she have a break-out year in a scene-stealing part in a much loved, financially successful Best Picture nominee, but she also has a great story outside of the film and has given some fantastic acceptance speeches along the way. The only thing that could stop her would be if The Artist really becomes a juggernaut, and is able to push Bejo into the competition. Jessica Chastain had the best year of the nominees, but is overshadowed by her co-star, and both McCarthy and McTeer should be happy just to be invited to the party.